Hello from Romania

[MasterBlaster]

Again thanks for the detailed post , I learned a few new things in combination with SEA-Z. I have changed the settings of the Mitras to match what you posted. No Sangokai products in Romania but I will order from Germany. Remain committed to the calcium reactor in the long run but I do understand that it's much harder to control it efficiently in a small pool, dosing being the first solution here. I am limited in the size of the tank by space available and weight but want to compensate by really using what I have to the maximum in terms of both stony coral and fish. I think a CR will be more economical in the long run plus I already have good quality CO2 gear from the freshwater side. But will dose major and minor until that point. After my first 100L water change I don't want to repeat it again.

What is your opinion of Oxidisers ? Know they add a decent amount of oxygen to the tank. In my setup the oxydiser(Söchting Oxydator A) should produce 270g O2 per day.

Related to ozone , as you correctly point out it produces second level oxidizers that are toxic and longer lasting so carbon on both water out and air out is needed. I don't understand the chemistry behind but nevertheless I read allot on the subject. What I was thinking in terms of ozone was dosing 2ml(smallest unit dosing for the Sanders smallest ozone generator) 4-6 h each night. What I read on ozone is that the end result is that it speeds up reactions that would take much long otherwise making the system act more like mother nature's oceans. Also I have seen some stunning tanks that use ozone. Despite the many complications I am somewhat convinced(maybe wrongly) that for a mature, full of life tank there is nothing more effective in keeping things alive and thriving then correct used ozone and dosing. I was really curios about Mr Jörg Kokott opinion on this but the SEA-Z has this section " in construction".

I am expecting to have low PH problems after I set up the skimmer. Because of that thinking of setting up a CO2 scrubber to help with that . I read a bit about the new concept of closed loop CO2 scrubber system (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_GM5ZBzvdk) What do you think of that ?

Finally what would you recommend in terms of skimmer model ? I really need something as silent as possible (under 45 db), ideally with low energy consumption (under 15W) and with a reliable pump. What I am looking at are RE Mini BK (painfully expensive) , Nyos 120 (loud based on subjective opinions) and Red Sea PSK 300 ( plastic might not be ozone resistant)

[tropicreef]

I have changed the settings of the Mitras to match what you posted.

How is the actual LED Settings? Can you poste it here, please.

Remain committed to the calcium reactor in the long run but I do understand that it's much harder to control it efficiently in a small pool, dosing being the first solution here.

CR only makes sense for tanks from 700 Liters

What is your opinion of Oxidisers ? Know they add a decent amount of oxygen to the tank. In my setup the oxydiser(Söchting Oxydator A) should produce 270g O2 per day.

Oxidisers have nothing to do with seawater aquaristics. Don't use it.

I am expecting to have low PH problems after I set up the skimmer.

I expect the opposite. You will see if you have connected a skimmer, then the pH value will go up. How often do you ventilate your room with fresh air?

Finally what would you recommend in terms of skimmer model ?

I have been doing seawater aquaristics for many years and have tried out one or the other skimmer. I can only recommend one manufacturer and that is Royale Exclusive. I have myself a RE Double Cone 200 with adjustable speedy pump.

The next steps with you would be:
a. Buy a skimmer (don't use Ozon)
b. Buy sangokai nutri basic set (#1,#2,#3) for supply trace elements and nutrients. For this there is a dosing plan which you can download here.
c. Buy corals

Additional you have to decide how you want to supply your calcium and carbonates: two part method (with waterchanges 10% every week) or sangokai balance System (without water changes)

[MasterBlaster]

image storage I just noticed the start time/end time is not synched with my light timer so I updated.

[MasterBlaster]

I bought a Nyos 120 skimmer. Had a good deal locally for Nyos skimmers and I jumped on it. I am happy with it so far, it's very quiet and seems of good overall quality. I noticed that the corals seem more happy(more extended) and I put this on better water oxygenation but the cause can be any number of changes made including to lighting. Also got from a friend 2 sps frags(think millepora) and they are looking extended after 1 day. I will follow tropicreef proposed dosing (Sangokai balance + nutri v2 + ICP test) starting from next month. Then if no problems I will buy much more corals.

I have the skimmer on for 3 days but so far no changes to the pH (I estimated based on the tropic marin test that it remains between 7.8 and 8.0). The room gets fresh air every few days.

[tropicreef]

I noticed that the corals seem more happy(more extended) and I put this on better water oxygenation but the cause can be any number of changes made including to lighting.

The change was in any case triggered by the skimmer. Changes to the light always take a few days.

Did you rebuild your reef a little bit?

[MasterBlaster]

Did you rebuild your reef a little bit?

Rebuilding the rock structure remains work in progress as right now I lack the needed rocks with the desired form and also don't want to get satisfied with a minimalist rock formation(but less mentainance) and remove most of the rock. I understand that extensive rock formation require better flow and I already provided that with the 2 extra 3.5W Sicce pumps that push water under and between the rocks) .

I want to ask for your opinion on some problems I have .

The tank develops a biofilm at the surface of the water but the overflow is not able to handle this kind of problem(see pictures). In 3-4 days the biofilm covers all the surface of the water ( I then proceed to clean it by forcing the emergency overflow into use or stoping the pump , both help force some of it down in the sump). Right now there are no oxygen problems because of the skimmer but I know that this kind of biofilm prevents proper gas exchange. I don't know that is the cause but have two theories. Either the overflow is poorly designed or the return pump has such a low debit that the main overflow just does not have the suction power to get this biofilm with the water in the sump. The pump has a 2.4 m max head and it has a real head in my case of 1.4m plus 2 45* degree joints plus 2 return heads(T type pipe) . Based on the pump power chart excluding the 2x 45* degree joints and the 2 returns it should still have around ~ 1300l/h. What do you think is the cause ?





Aiptasia

I used a few kg of live rock at start. Some of it came with a few sponges and soft corals (paly). I noticed a small piece had Aiptasia so added it to the sump instead of the main display. Then yesterday I noticed the shadow side of another larger piece of live rock was full of Aiptasia . In general Aiptasia is not the worst pest and I knew there are animals that eat it. But when I searched in detail and most of the fish either need a bigger tank or might not eat it or eat corals. So i have to ask the beginner question : How dangerous is Aiptasia and what should I do next ? Add all Aiptasia rocks to the sump or don't worry and try my luck with either Acreichthys tomentosus or Lysmata Wundermanni...

[tropicreef]

the biofilm on the water surface impaired the gas exchange. the problem has to be solved

Either the overflow is poorly designed

on the picture i can't see it clearly. Can you please make a sketch from your overflow.

the drain requires two standpipes. One acts as the main drain pipe and creates a full siphon when pulling water from your tank. The other is used as an emergency drain should the main drain become clogged and sits higher than the main siphon pipe. The main drain has an adjustable valve allow for fine tuning of the drain siphon speed resulting in quieter operation and optimal flow through your aquarium. Both the main siphon drain pipe and the emergency pipe must be below the surface of the water. bevel the emergency pipe a little bit.

[tropicreef]

How dangerous is Aiptasia and what should I do next ? Add all Aiptasia rocks to the sump or don't worry and try my luck with either Acreichthys tomentosus or Lysmata Wundermanni...

The Aiptasia can take over. The sooner you do something about it, the better. the Acreichthys tomentosus helps, but it also eats LPS corals.

[tropicreef]

one example for reefbuilding within Aquarium Systems L'Aquarium 250.

[MasterBlaster]

Fixed the issues with biofilm by adding water surface tension (I moved a small powerhead near the top) . Apparently without the water making small waves/tension the overflow is not enough to prevent biofilm from appearing. Related to aiptasia , I moved the rock in the sump. If I see other aiptasia heads in the tank I will get the shrimp that eats it and hope for the best. Related to the aquascape it remains work in progress until I find some branch type rock(tanga rock) but I plan to have a much less bulky layout then the one in the picture above, the tank is too small for me to fill it with a hill structure.

I am a bit frustrated that I still need to make small changes for all kinds of reasons(recently ATO issues that affect water salinity). Hopefully everything will be sorted soon so I can let the tank life enjoy "stability".